Electric dry shaver head having trimmer edge



Aug. 17, 1965 MASASHI OKUBO 3,201,173

ELECTRIC DRY SHAVER HEAD HAVING TRIMMER EDGE Filed Aug. 17, 1964 I INVENTOR I Masclshi Okubo 2 M ATTORNEYS United States Patent ELECTRIC DRY SHAVER HEAD HAVING TRIMMER EDGE Masashi Okubo, Kadoma, Japan, assignor to Matsushita Electric Works, Ltd., Kadoma, Japan Filed Aug. 17, 1964, Ser. No. 390,104

Claims priority, application Japan, Aug. 21, 1963, 38/62,746 1 Claim. (Cl. 30-341) The present invention relates to a so-called electric dry shaver and more particularly to an improvement of a shaving head of such electric dry shaver.

An electric dry shaver generally comprises a casing with a top comb or cutting surface, a cutter blade coacting with the comb or cutting surface and a mechanism electrically operated to drive the cutter blade, said cutter blade and the driving mechanism therefor being arranged within the casing. The conventional top comb or cutting surface is substantially fiat or uniformly curved throughout the surface and is rather broad. Therefore, it is difiicult of efifectively shave a narrow space of the human body or to trim the tuft of hair under the temple.

The primary object of this invention is to improve the structure of the comb or cutting surface and cutting blade associated therewith in order to overcome the above mentioneddifiiculty encountered with conventional electric dry shavers.

The electric shaver head according to the present invention comprises a comb member having a top wall with transverse slots therein as is conventional. Provided on the top wall is a trimmer projection along one side edge thereof and integral with the top wall, and extending laterally along the top Wall and coextensive therewith a reentrant wall extending from the outer edge of the projection back beneath the projection to a downwardly extending comb wall. This comb member is adapted to be secured to a dry shaver body. The projection and reentrant wall also have slots therein which are aligned with the slots in the top wall. Within the comb member is a cutter assembly which is adapted to be driven back and forth along the comb member in a conventional manner and which has an inverted U-shaped cutter member having an upper cutter wall corresponding in shape to the shape of the top wall of the comb member and having slots therein extending transversely thereof and having downwardly depending side walls. In addition, there is a U-shaped cutter member having upwardly extending side walls extending upwardly along the downwardly extending side walls of the inverted U-shaped cutter member and having an upper cutter wall extending laterally from the top edge of one of the upwardly extending walls and parallel to and beneath the projection on the top wall of the comb member. This upper cutter member has slots therein and the two upper cutter walls cooperate with the comb member to perform a cutting action when the cutter assembly moves back and forth along the comb member.

Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description made byreferring to the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a schematic cross section of the upper portion of an electric dry shaver embodying the present invention, non-pertinent parts being removed,

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of comb and interior cutter blade coacting with the comb.

The only and important feature of this invention is in the particular structure or configuration of the cutting head, namely top comb or cutting surface and cutter blade associated therewith, and the other elements such as casing and mechanism for driving the cutter blade may be a conventional one which is well known in the art and does not constitute a part of the invention.

Referring to the drawings, a shaver of this lnventron comprises a cutting head having a chasis or support member I mounted on a body (not shown) of the shaver. A comb or stationary cutting member 2 is generally inverted U-shape in cross section with the legs or side walls 3, 3 being secured at the lower portions to the support member 1 as shown in FIG. 1. The comb or stationary cutting member 2 has a substantially flat or slightly curved top wall 4 having a longitudinally extending groove 5. The important feature of the invention is in the provision of an outward projection 6 along at least one upper side edge of the comb member 2. The projection 6 is integral with the upper wall 4 and side wall 3, and has a rather sharp edge 7 forming an interior space 8 which is generally triangle in cross section. The upper wall 4 and the projection 6 are perforated in a well known manner.

A cutter blade assembly 9 is arranged within a space defined by the stationary comb 2 and the support member 1, and comprises a perforated cutting face coacting with the top wall 4 and top wall 10 of the projection 6. Thus, in the embodiment shown, the cutter blade assembly 9 comprises a cuter blade 11 which is generally inverted U-shape in cross section and has an upper cutter surface or wall 12 with a longitudinal groove 13 receiving the bottom of the groove 5 on the comb 4. Another cutter blade 13 which is generally U-shape in cross section and has an upper cutter surface or wall 14 extending longitudinally along one top edge of the blade 13 and laterally projecting into the space 8 to coact with the top cutting surface 10 of the projection 6, is fixed to the other cutter blade member 11 in a suitable manner such as spot welding. The cutter blade 13 is slidably supported at its bottom 15 on the base or chasis member 1 through a ball 16 urged upwardly by a spring (not shown). The cutter walls 12 and 14 are perforated in a conventional manner. By means of the spring urged ball 16 the cutter blade assembly 9 is urged upwardly so that the inner cutter blade 12 and 14 are in close operative engagement with the outer or stationary cutter blade 4,10.

In operation, the cutter blade assembly 9 is reciprocated by a suitable driving mechanism (not shown) in the longitudinal direction along and in slidable engagement with the stationary cutting member or comb 2. The shaving operation per se obtained by this movement is well known. The important advantage of the invention is in that the projection 6 in cooperation with the inner cutter blade 14 forms a trimmer having a narrow or sharp trimming edge 7 so that a narrow or restricted portion of the human body can be easily shaved and trimming of the tuft of hair under the temple is effectively and easily carried out.

Since the trimmer device is not separate but is integral with the conventional cutting head the structure is simple and easy to make and operate.

What I claim is:

An electric dry shaver head comprising a comb member having a top wall having transverse slots therein, a trimmer projection along one side edge of said top wall and integral with said top wall and extending laterally of said top wall and coextensive therewith, a reentrant wall extending from the outer edge of said projection back beneath said projection at an acute angle to said projection, and downwardly extending comb walls extending downwardly from the inner edge of said reentrant wall and the other side edge of said top wall and adapted to be secured to a dry shaver body, said projection and reentrant wall having slots therein aligned with the slots in said top wall, and a cutter assembly Within said comb member and adapted to be driven back and forth along'said comb member and having an inverted U-shaped cutter member having an upper cutter wall having a shape corresponding to the shape of the top Wall of said comb member and having slots therein extending transversely thereof, and having downwardly depending side walls depending from the edges of said upper wall, and a U-shaped cutter member having upwardly extending side walls extending upwardly along the downwardly extending side walls of said inverted U-shaped cutter member, and having an upper cutter Wall extending laterally from the top edge of one of the upwardly entending walls thereof parallel to and beneath the said projection on said top wall of said comb member,

2 said upper cutter wall having slots therein, said upper cutter walls cooperating with said comb member for performing a cutting action when the cutter assembly moves back and forth along said comb member.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,948,063 8/60 Iepson 3034.1 2,975,516 3/61 Heyek 3034.1 3,072,809 1/63 Jepson et al. 3034.1

WILLIAM FELDMAN, Primary Examiner.

MYRON C. KRUSE, Examiner. 

